


Another Side, Another Story

by DarkAliceLilith



Series: I Finally Found My Way [2]
Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Coming Out, Disabled Character, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Myra Kaspbrak, past Richie/others
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27383989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAliceLilith/pseuds/DarkAliceLilith
Summary: After Derry, Richie didn’t know what to expect. He waits for Eddie to awake, then he offers up his home to his childhood best friend and crush, falling even more in love with him. His life is turned upside down, but he has his best friends again and he finds himself no longer afraid to show who really is.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: I Finally Found My Way [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000431
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is in the same universe as [I Finally Found My Way.](%E2%80%9C) I wanted to expand on the story for awhile and have a few things lined up already. This is Richie’s side and begins while Eddie is still recovering. 
> 
> Rating could change and more tags could be added later. Also updates could be slow, I have a lot going on at home but I’m hoping by posting something new I might get the energy to write more. I hope you all enjoy!

Richie held Eddie’s hand in his own as he stared down at him, the only sounds in the room being the machines hooked up to Eddie. It had been a couple of weeks since they defeated Pennywise and he hadn’t left Eddie’s side since, much to Myra’s disapproval. 

Thankfully, she wasn’t there at the moment. Richie had gotten up early to be there. The first couple of days, he had refused to leave the room, only being convinced to leave by Beverly, Ben and Mike, the three of them begging him to get some proper rest and a shower, but was right back by Eddie’s side the minute visiting hours began the next day. 

Once Myra arrived, she had tried to kick them all out, but by some miracle, the doctors went against her wishes and Richie was able to stay with Eddie. He felt so much guilt and he prayed every day to anyone that would listen for Eddie to awake.

He knew there would be complications when Eddie finally came out of his coma. The doctors only spoke to Myra, but she would repeat it back to them teary eyed and dramatic. There had been some serious damage to his spine which would affect his mobility. Richie knew it was better than being dead, but there was still a lot of guilt because Eddie would never be in this situation if he hadn’t tried to save him.

Richie pressed his lips to Eddie’s hand, before setting it back down. He knew Myra would come barging in soon and he didn’t want to give her any reason to try to kick him out. 

There was a book on the table next to him and he picked it up, opening it up to where he had left off. The gift shop at the hospital had a small selection of books and he had grabbed a mystery. He had always enjoyed reading and thought it would pass the time and read it out loud.

He had gotten through one chapter before the door flew open and Myra walked inside. Richie looked at her over the book, watching as she walked over to Eddie, pressing a kiss to his forehead, leaving a smear of lipstick that she carefully wiped away. 

Richie folded the corner of the page and set the book back down. Myra seemed to finally notice him and frowned. “You’re here again.”

“He’s my best friend.”

She sat down on Eddie’s other side, taking his hand in her. Richie looked down at it for a moment before turning away and grabbing his phone for something else to look at. There had been something that had reawakened in him when he saw Eddie again at the restaurant and though he’d never say it outloud, it pained him to see Myra at his side.

“How come I never heard of you until now?”

Richie looked up from his phone, surprised that Myra was speaking to him about anything other than Eddie’s condition. “I’m sorry?”

“How come Eddie has never spoken about you?”

“You can blame Sonia for that,” Richie said, fingers digging into his knee. 

“Why?”

“We knew her secret.”

“What secret?”

“Eddie was never sick,” Richie answered, eyes darting to Eddie’s face. He didn’t know what Eddie and Myra’s relationship was like, but judging by how similar she seemed to Sonia, he could only guess. 

“Eddie is sick.”

“I meant the placebos she forced him on and that bullshit list you gave his doctor.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he spoke over her. “Did you know that when we were kids, we all used to go swimming in this quarry in Derry? We’d find the highest cliff and jump off it in nothing but our underwear. It wasn’t the cleanest place to swim but Eddie never complained. He was braver than me. I didn’t want to jump, but Eddie always took my hand and pulled me off the cliff with him because when she wasn’t around, when he was with us, he could be a kid.” He looked up at Myra to see her red in the face. “She was manipulative and she tried to keep him away from us when in the end, we were the ones who actually cared about him. Eddie was the bravest kid I knew, despite what his mother did to him.”

“Sonia wasn’t a bad person.”

Richie shrugged. “It’s the truth. I can’t make you believe it, but it’s the truth.”

“Sounds to me like you were a bad influence. Maybe she was right to keep you seperated.”

“You know what? I know damn well she thought that we were bad influences for Eddie. I think she also knew she was faking everything, but she couldn’t stop us until she moved him out of Derry and I missed him every damn day. I didn’t want to lose contact with him and I tried to write and call, but she blocked it. She took Eddie away from m-us.”

Myra huffed and looked back down at Eddie. “She only ever wanted what was best for him.”

“She wanted what she thought was best for him. Eddie wasn’t the one who was sick. She was the sick one.”

Myra glared at him and Richie expected a response, but instead she huffed and looked back down at her husband. There was a moment of silence until the doctor walked in and Richie was asked to leave for a moment. 

He decided to walk down and get some breakfast, his stomach growling, finding Mike, Beverly and Ben huddled together at a table, a styrofoam cup of hospital coffee in front of each of them. Ben noticed him and waved, Richie waved back before getting himself a bagel and joining them.

“We saw Myra coming, so we thought we would wait,” Beverly said. “Is he still asleep?”

Richie nodded. “Yeah. I hope he wakes up soon. Sharing a room with his wife is pure fucking torture. She’s awful.”

Ben placed a hand on his shoulder and Richie leaned against him, welcoming the comforting touch. “He’ll wake up, you just gotta hold on and be there for him, Richie.”

Richie placed his hand over Ben’s and gave him a small smile. “I know.”

He leaned his head on Ben’s shoulder and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I don’t want to lose him again.”

“You won’t. Bill still remembers us and so does Stan. This won’t be like before. We’re together again,” Mike said, reaching for Richie’s free hand. Richie accepted it and held on tight. He didn’t know how he had survived so long without them and he never wanted to do that again.


	2. Chapter 2

Richie paced outside Eddie’s hospital room while Beverly leaned against a wall. Myra hadn’t arrived yet, but there were nurses in there, checking on Eddie and changing his bandages. They had stepped out while they did so and though Richie knew things were looking up for Eddie, he was still nervous about a possible turnaround. 

The nurses came out and Richie was immediately inside and at Eddie’s side, taking his hand. Beverly stepped inside and gently closed the door, watching them for a moment before pulling a seat up next to Richie. 

“You love him.”

Richie didn’t look up. He didn’t want to see the look on his best friend’s face, afraid that he would find disgust. He dropped his hand away from Eddie’s, feeling his chest constrict.

A silence fell over them and then Beverly’s arms were wrapping around him. “It’s okay,” she whispered, holding him tightly and he found himself sinking into her touch, turning his head and burying his face in her neck as he felt tears well up in his eyes. It felt similar to that day in the waiting room, when they anxiously waited for news about Eddie. She had held him tightly then as he cried.

“It’s okay,” she whispered again. “You can love him.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her just as tightly as the tears streamed down his face. “You’re allowed to love him.” It was as though she could read his mind and knew his fear. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally pulled away and wiped at his eyes. “I-I never said it out loud.” Though he hadn’t, when they were kids, he was sure Stan had known. He seemed to always understand things about Richie that Richie could never put into words. “I did love him,” he said, his voice cracking. “And I guess I still do.” 

He leaned back in the chair as he looked at Eddie, his heart aching. “It all came back when I saw him again, and I thought it was just a childhood crush, but it’s still there, Bev. We don’t even really know each other anymore, but it’s still fucking there.”

Beverly took Richie’s hand and held it tightly. “Love lasts forever.”

“That sounds like something Ben would say.”

Beverly was quiet for a moment before whispering, “That’s because he did.”

Richie looked over at her and smiled softly. “Congratulations.”

“Richie…”

“No. It’s okay. Some of us should get a happy ending.”

“Richie, he’ll wake up.” Richie gave a small nod, but stayed quiet. Beverly gave his hand a squeeze. “Rich, he’ll wake up and you will have a chance too.”

Richie shook his head. “I don’t think so, but at least I’ll have him in my life again and I’ll take whatever he’ll let me have.”

Beverly looked like she wanted to say something else, but instead, she just leaned her head on his shoulder and they sat there together until Myra arrived. 

They went down to get lunch together after too many glares from Myra and as they rounded around to the cafeteria, Richie spotted a familiar figure standing by the coffee machine and he stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Richie?”

“Shit.”

“What?”

“It’s my manager,” Richie mumbled. He took a deep breath before walking over to him. “Steve, what the fuck are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” Steve answered, not looking away from the styrofoam cup as he filled it. “You haven’t been answering my calls.”

“It’s been a rough few days, Steve.”

“Richard, you ran off stage and didn’t even give me a chance to talk to you before you were off on a goddamn plane to some shithole town I never even heard you talk of before! So excuse me for following after you didn’t fucking call me back.”

Richie sighed, catching Beverly out of the corner of his eye keeping her distance. “You want me to talk, then let’s talk, but not here.” He looked up at Beverly. “I’m going for a walk, will you-“

“I’ll call if anything changes.”

Steve followed Richie towards the exit, taking a sip of his coffee and making a noise of displeasure. “Maybe you can buy me a better cup of coffee than whatever the fuck this shit is.”

“In Derry? Good fucking luck,” Richie said, holding the door open for Steve. They got in Steve’s rental car and Richie directed him away from the hospital. “Here, let’s get out and walk. I need-I need to walk.”

“So, this is the town you grew up in.” Steve said as they got out and started to walk.

“Yup.”

“Seems like a shitty place.”

“It’s definitely the reason I’m so fucked up.”

“You’re not fucked up,” Steve said softly, looking up at Richie with a soft smile. Years ago, that smile would have sent his heart racing, but after seeing Eddie again after so many years, Richie began to realize exactly why he had been so attractive to Steve. 

Richie shoved his hands in pockets and stared down at the ground as they walked, not realizing he was leading Steve towards a familiar area until Steve was stopping and taking a step in front of him. 

“Talk to me, Rich. Doesn’t look like anyone is around for miles.”

“That’s because this bridge is a safe haven for secrets,” Richie said, running his hand along the wood and sidestepping Steve, looking for a carving he had placed there as a kid. He walked a few more steps until he found it, the letters faded from age. He turned to look at Steve. “A long time ago, I made a promise. I forgot about that promise until Mike called me that day. So I came back and some shit went down and now...now Eddie…” he trailed off, running his fingers over the letters. “Steve, I can’t go home yet.”

Steve leaned against the railing and looking at the spot Richie was touching. “R plus E? Richie plus Eddie?”

Richie let out a shaky breath. “Yeah.” He stepped away from the railing and turned away. “I can’t leave him. You have to understand, Steve. I-I…”

Steve didn’t say anything and when Richie turned around, he found Steve staring at the carving. “Steve?”

“I guess a part of me just hoped that one day you would be comfortable with yourself and we could be together again,” Steve sighed. “But you were waiting for someone else.”

“It’s not like that, Steve,” Richie said, stepping in front of the rail, blocking Steve’s view. “I did love you, I mean I do still, but I’m terrified. It wouldn’t have been fair to you, that’s why I ended it.”

“Even so, I’m not him,” Steve said, looking up at Richie with sad eyes and Richie itched to pull him into a hug. 

“Steve-“

“It’s alright, Rich, you’re not the first unattainable guy I’ve fallen for,” Steve said, then gave a quick glance around before leaning up and pressing a soft kiss to Richie’s cheek. “You’re still my friend, and I want you to be happy no matter what.” He placed a hand on Richie’s shoulder and smiled up at him. “I’ll go back to LA and try to fix this mess. Just give me a call every once in a while to keep me updated, alright?”

Richie nodded and Steve took a step back, his hand falling away from Richie, but before he could get too far, Richie took his hand, stopping him. “I don’t deserve a friend like you. I’m sorry.”

“Of course you do,” Steve said with a smile. “You should go back to him.” He took Richie’s hand and threaded their fingers together, giving Richie’s a tight squeeze. “Call me. Okay? I want to know you’re doing okay.”

“I will.”

Steve gave Richie’s hand another squeeze before letting go and starting back towards town. Richie watched him leave before leaning against the railing and slowly slid down, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, staring off at nothing. 

It didn’t hurt as much as he expected, but it still hurt plenty and Richie allowed himself a moment of mourning until Beverly called, asking if he wanted to get something other than hospital food.

He took a deep breath and told Beverly where he was so she could pick him up and drive him to the Jade. 

Beverly immediately began to tease him at the restaurant. 

“You pulled a fucking Bill! Oh my God!”

Richie shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I know, okay? It doesn’t look good and I really, really don’t want Eddie to find out because I feel like it will be glaringly obvious to him.”

“That guy is your manager! He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

“Well, I want it to be as late as possible,” Richie sighed. “Besides, it’s much more complicated than that. I-we….” Richie stopped and took a deep breath. “I met Steve in college. I-I wasn’t always in denial.”

“You dated him???”

“Sh! Not so loud! And yes,” Richie said, shifting uncomfortably again. His face was burning and he found himself unable to look at her. “We broke up but remained good friends, hence why he’s my manager, but I did love him at some point. I guess I still kinda do, but my feelings for Eddie just completely eclipse what I felt for Steve.” He let out another sigh. “Steve, I hurt him, I know I did. He told me that he had hoped one day I would be comfortable enough to be with him openly but I was just waiting for someone else.”

Beverly reached out and set her hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “He’s not gonna-“

“No, he would never do that to me,” Richie said. “But I still feel like a shitty person because I longed for someone I didn’t even remember until a month ago. It fucking sucks, Bevvie. It sucks.”

“It’ll be okay,” She said, her voice soft. “And if he’s as good of a friend as you say he is, then he’ll want you to be happy.”

“He told me he wanted me to be happy.”

“Then see? Everything is going to be okay.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’ll be okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talks of temporary death and smoking.

Richie exhaled smoke as he watched his screen dial Stan for facetime. He didn’t smoke as much as he used to, but he felt stressed enough to bum the rest of Beverly’s pack off of her. 

They said things could get worse before they got better and Eddie’s heart had stopped during the night. He had been revived and Myra had tearfully recalled what had happened to him when he found her already in Eddie’s room that morning. Eddie was fine now and was once again on his way to recovering. 

The event still terrified him though, prompting him to think about what if they had dragged him out of there only for him to die alone in a hospital? He took a shaky breath before taking another long drag of his cigarette just as Stan answered.

Stan made a face of disgust as Richie exhaled smoke. “Those will kill you.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“How is he?”

“Fine. Had a scare last night, but he’s fine.”

“And how are you?”

Richie stared at his phone for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about me. How’s it going in Georgia?”

Stan sighed, giving Richie a stern look before his camera was flipping around and Richie could see a beautiful garden. “I can bird watch.”

“Ugh boring.”

The camera flipped around again and Richie laughed as he saw Stan’s middle finger taking it up. Stan dropped his hand. “Seriously, Rich, how are you doing?”

Richie took another long drag. “I’m just glad he’s alright.”

“But you’re worried.”

“Of course I’m fucking worried. I’m worried about him. I’m worried about you. I’m worried about all of us.”

“It’s gone, Richie,” Stan said. “You don’t have to worry so much. You don’t have to be so scared.”

“I’m not…” Richie trailed off and shook his head. “How the fuck do you still know me so well?”

“Because I’m your best friend and I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And I’m being serious, Rich. Everything will be fine. It’s over and we’re all still here.”

Richie let out a soft sigh, the two of them falling silent for a moment before something off screen seemed to catch Stan’s attention and a soft smile formed on his face. “Patty’s here.”

“Oh, I should-“

“No. Stay,” Stan said, looking back at Richie. “Just for a bit.”

Richie looked at best friend and after a moment, nodded. “Okay.”

He spoke with Stan and Patty for a while until his phone started telling him his battery was low and he said goodbye with the promise to facetime again. 

He looked at the pack of cigarettes sitting next to him as he slid his phone in his pocket and grabbed them, tossing them into the trash as he walked back to the hospital. He knew Eddie would hate the smell of smoke if he were awake. 

Myra was still in the room, hand curled around Eddie’s as he walked in with a bagel and a coffee that tasted more like water than coffee. “Any change?” He asked, sitting on Eddie’s other side. 

“He hasn't woken up yet.”

Richie frowned, itching to take Eddie’s free hand. Instead, he busied himself with his bagel, hoping Eddie would wake soon. 

He just wanted his best friend back.


End file.
